Upon My Darkest Hour
by J.A. Johnson
Summary: Naruto age 12 is sent crashing to the depths of Konoha where he discovers his lineage. He is one of the Uzumaki vampires. Join him as he discovers his new powers and as he makes history by bringing back the power of his clan.


Alright everyone, this is my first fanfiction in a very very long time.

This is a Naruto-vampire fic so expect for it to be a bit day with rays of hope shinning through. Don't worry Naruto will not sparkle in the sun….that is retarded. Anyway guys I hope you enjoy this rather short introduction to my story.

Also…Read AND Review please thanks guys

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Naruto except for this fanfiction. A parody of how I would have written the story.**

The sun loomed over the horizon casting shadows through the whole of Konoha. The stillness of the village would have seemed odd for this time of day, were it not October 10th ,that had been the day when the great Kyuubi no Kitsune hadattacked twelve years prior a fox made of pure demonic energy nearly destroyed the great village of Konoha, and had it not been for the villages leader, the Yondaime, the village would have been doomed. The village would have been completely still if not for the sounds of sandals raping against the stone**-**paved streets, a lone boy running through the alleys in hopes of losing his pursuers.

Naruto panted has he ran from alley to alley hoping to put some distance between him and those who chased him and hequickly cast a glance to the sky. The sun would soon set, and he would finally have the upper hand in this game of cat and mouse. Long ago he had forgone his typical bright orange outfit for something much more fitting of his future job: baggy grey cargo shorts held all the gear he would need, witha tight black shirt that wouldn't restrict his movements. On his head he wore a deep rustic orange bandana to hold his unruly hair back, which he hadalready tied into a loose ponytail. He wastall for his age and stood at five foot, six inches, well above many others in his age group.

Casting his eyes back to the front, Naruto jumped over one of the many trash cans that were in the alleys of Konoha and continued his sprint for his life. Plowing over all of his obstacles, Naruto headed toward the main graveyard in Konoha. It wasthe place where he had spent the majority of his childhood hiding from anyone that would try to harm him; he knew the place like the back of his hand.

Soon the gates came into view, and once he got near he jumped from brick to brick as he scaled the wall. He rolled over the top and landed on the ground below, and as soon as his feet hit the ground he was running. Jumping from headstone to headstone as soon a foot touched them and running when his feet touched the ground, Naruto smiled nobody knew this place like he did, every nook and crack. This was his playground, and his alone. The sky blackened as he made his way towards one of the many groves of trees that grew in the graveyard.

Upon reaching the tree he had in mind, he dove at its roots, sliding on the ground. Naruto slid into the crevice between the ground and the tree root and hunkered down in the hole that let him go beneath the tree itself. The ground itself here smelled of blood and death, so Naruto had never gone into the narrow cavern that led underground beneath the dead grove tree. Taking a deep breath, Naruto pressed onward deeper and deeper into the earth, crawling through the dirt.

"I think he went here," an echoed cry rang out, reverberating through the narrow tunnel. Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw a light flicker and come to life at the entrance to the tunnel.

'_**D**__amn_' Naruto thought as he pressed farther and farther Into the tunnel, hoping that it would soon open up into a larger room where he could make a stand. Naruto didn't need to look back to know that his pursuers were gaining ground on him once again as their noises were growing louder at an alarming rate. Pushing onward, he soon felt the slope of the tunnel grow as it began to widen out. This caused Naruto to press on at a faster rate, even though his own enhanced sight was already beginning to fail him. Soon, the grade of the slope grew drastically and the soil grew very wet, causing Naruto to begin to slide down through mud at an alarming rate.

Naruto landed with a thud as the slope leveled out. Looking around, he could barely make out that he had came into a rather large room, made of stone, if the ground below could be any judge. Standing up, he shook himself, but to no avail as the mud still clung to his clothes. Leaning on a nearby wall Naruto tried to catch his breath. But was soon interrupted by the sounds of his pursuers, obviously slowed by his "slip and slide". He would have laughed if his situation were not so dire—if they caught him, he was dead. In the streets of the village they would just beat him to a pulp…but down here**, **where nobody where nobody but his pursuers could see, he was as good as dead.

Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out a kunai with a tag on it, ' here going nothing' Naruto thought as he added chakra to the tag and threw the kunai up the shaft that he had came down. He heard a loud bang and a bright light flashed as the tag exploded, and he could feel the walls of the room shake and the ground began the realign itself. 'Cave in' he thought as the fell to the ground, panting, knowing he would only have a few hours-perhaps**-**days to dig himself out. He laid back and wiped his hair in an attempt to pull the mud out of it. Slinging his hand toward the ground he heard a wet plop as the mud met its new home.

Going back into his pouch he pulled out a glow stick and cracked it, filling the room with a gloomy green aura.The room itself was completely made of stone laid together, fitted closely with only one wall being made of dirt. The bright green light revealed stone statues of men, each with a cowl pulled over their face, concealing everything above their nose. Naruto felt a shiver crawl up his spine as he examined them, and the shadows they cast as the chemical light wavered in his hand made them seem as if they were actually moving.They lined the room, all of them angled to face in the same direction— towards a door made of solid metal with seals covering it. Walking over to examine the Kanji, Naruto soon wished he had studied more about seals. Obviously they were there to keep something in, but he couldn't tell what. But it was his only way out.

He ripped the seals from the door and pulled the door open, only stopped momentarily by the musky air that pulled itself into the room. The door lead to a small circular room with a stone casket in the center made with ornate design. Upon closer inspection, the casket had a stone figure carved into it. The figure itself seemed to be mostly human… except for the dark eyes and the elongated canines. Searching for a name, Naruto came across a set of words inscribed into the tomb. "Here lies the embodiment of darkness, the stalker of the night, and devourer of men".

Suddenly Naruto became faint and the room began to dim; with his head beginning to spin, he fell to his knees as darkness slowly began to encompass his eyes. Pain filled his entire body as he fell entirely flat on the stone below, and a wordless voice filled his head**,** making him want to run and scream.

If only he had been able to.

The world was black, and Naruto felt as though needles were piercing every inch of his body. He could hear terrible sharp screams echo throughout his mind, whether they were near or far, he had no clue. He urged his body to move, to do something…but it could not. An icy chill traveled down his spine, causing tremors to ripple through his body. The chill traveled down his spine, further and further. Upon reaching his tailbone a sharp jolt sent his eye lids flying open.

_It's dark_**, **Naruto thought as he scanned the area for anything that would help him…. butthere was nothing. It wasn't' as if the room was empty—there was absolutely nothing around him. It was as if the world had ceased to be, and the only thing remaining was his sense of self. Even he was nothing; it was as if his consciousness had drifted away from his body. Where he was he could not tell, or even hope to understand.

Although he could not see his body, he _felt_ as if he was there— as if his body was aching from the cold, as if needles were protruding from his every inch. Even the metallic taste of blood in the back of his throat was more real than anything else.

Soon it felt as if his mind was being pulled along, down a cold and powerful stream. Waves of ice seemingly flowed over his body as he was dragged along.

For days, it seemed, this continued on. His body had long since grown numb.

_This is true peace. It is a darkness that never ends, a cold embrace that pulls you from place to place, with no hope for something better, just existing for eternity letting the world pull you along _Naruto thought, over and over again as time became meaningless.

As he was lost in his thoughts and the cool currents pulling him along, he felt something brush his face…._My Face! _Naruto thought silently to himself. _I have a face, I still exists_. His mind flooded with images of his past as he ripped his eyes open. In the vast darkness he saw himself on the streets as a child, crying, rain beating down on his young frame, surrounded by men who had sickening smiles on their faces.

"Die, you fucking demon!" the leader of the men sneered, as he let loose a kick across Naruto's face. Naruto could see the blood fly from his younger form's figure. The dark laughter of all of the men filled his ears as they all joined in the beating, his own child form curled and broken as the men relentlessly continued.

_Bastards! _Naruto yelled into the expanse, causing the images before him to ripple at the sound of his voice, and slowly disappear fading to the blackness the surrounded. Another jolt ripped through his body, and the taste of blood once again filled his throat all the way down to the pit of his stomach. The blood soon burned its way into his flesh, and he could feel a dark chakra surround him, pulling tight as to not lose hold of him in the currents of his mind.

He could feel the chakra pull him out of the icy currents he had been drifting in for what seemed like an eternity. Then he felt nothing once more, no pain, no cold, no anything. All too soon the wordless voice filled his mind again, as if trying to reach him, to make him understand what it had to say.

He wished to be once again lost in that river of his mind, the river without a source; as he now felt rain pelt his body, the voice continued to call for him. Images of the beating he had received continued to flash through his memory.

A young couple flew into his mind— a couple that had falsely befriended him as a child only to lure him into a trap. He could see himself tied down to a table in a nearly dark room, the only light being from a torch on the wall. The look of pure fear should never grace a child's face, but he wore the look. The couple cut him with knives and stabbed holes into his body for hours; blood poured from him onto the table and cascaded down to the floor, as if they had been velveteen curtains that adorned a stage during the end of a hero's life in a play.

The dark smiles of the two torturers engraved themselves into his mind.

Once his body was limp, completely unmoving, they unlashed him and the man pulled him from the table, dragging his body to the streets. He left him in an alley next to the garbage, as if it were simply trash that needed to be taken away.

_Make it stop….please! _Those words flowed though Naruto's mind as he begged for this to end. As suddenly as the images had come, they were gone and the voice came back.

It crackled, distorted, but was nearly understandable. First it spoke words unknown to Naruto**[,]** but it soon came to his own language.

"Ch..Child…" it cracked in a deep powerful voice "One who has endured…Darkness since birth, Why have you come to my chamber of eternal rest"

Bewildered Naruto paused before speaking "Where am I…Who are you. What have you done to me? Show yourself, Damn You!" The voice almost seemed to chuckle as it responded "We are here because this is where I am, and you are lost."

Anger filled Naruto causing him to scream at the voice, the one seemingly behind his current state "Don't give me crap like that! The last thing I remember was a crypt, then pain and darkness!"

"itssimple" the voice responded. "You entered my resting chamber and disturbed me. So I entered you mind to see why..."

"But—" Naruto tried to speak up but was interrupted by the voice.

"Do not dare interrupt me! _You_ entered _my_ chamber, _my_ home, and disturbed _me_. So I entered you to find out why. You have been trapped in your own mind**;** your own darkness and pain is what you felt as I explored your psyche. I have been learning your every detail boy, you, a shadow which hides amongst the light!" The voice paused as if thinking before continuing "Why does another child of the night hide amongst the light, which I have shunned for centuries?"

"I… don't understand" Naruto spoke slowly as he tried to regain his composure.

"When you entered my home, you blood called to me," the voice responded. "You, one of my mortal descendants….Uzumaki. If you had not been one of my clan, you would not have been able to remove the seals on my crypt.

"So…I have a family," Naruto responded, in aslightly hopeful tone to the voice which had caused him so much pain

"Yes….at least in me. I have seen your life. No mother and no father, yet you wear the spiral of my kin. To find any others, you would need to visit the blood pool in Uzushiogakure. It would show you where all of your other blood kin are. Enough questions— I have been asleep for longer than I care to know, and I do not have the power to move my worldly form. It pains me to see what an inheritor of my clan has fallen to, so I have just one thing to ask you child…would you like to truly know the power of your blood?" The voice faded off with that last question.

"I have a kekkei genkai, and a clan….why was I never told?" Naruto shouted once more at the voice "I have been alone all of my life, I've had nothing, no one…and you tell me I could have, at least in another life?"

The voice broke out in to a dark sickening laughter "You call it a kekkei genkai, but in my time it was called a curse; that is why my kinsmen and I left Wave country, and founded Whirlpool country and Uzushiogakure down its southern coastline. We Uzumaki are creatures of the night! We are the devourers of men! We are the vampire!"

"I am not a vampire" Naruto wryly said to the voice. "I don't drink the blood of other people…that's kinda…..sick." he finished by smirking.

"Exactly— you have never tasted blood, which is why you have not yet awakened. My time here grows shorter and shorter. We need to finish this conversation soon. If you wish to live, you will listen to me. When you awaken, open my casket and drink of my blood," The voice rasped.

"Why, I like the daylight," Naruto said. "Why would I want to live if I could not go out during the day? I would rather die in this crypt than live without the sun! Also, I don't think your blood would be very appetizing," Naruto simply stated accepting his fate.

The voice boomed "You fool! I will not let my clan die with you! If you do not do as I say, I will devour you to regain my strength and rebuild our clan myself! My life was over when, in order to stop war, I, Uzumaki Ichizuko gave my life to the Land of Fire to protect my kin. If you dare choose to die here, you disrespect me and all of your ancestors! Whether it be by luck, fate, or their guidance, you have been brought before me with a chance to revive our clan to its former glory! You have the chance to bring back the land of Uzushiogakure and you spit at the idea….why? because drinking my blood doesn't seem 'appetizing'? You _will_ drink my blood, but so you lose your all of your inhibitions. The sunlight will just seem brighter and warmer than you are used to, but you will eventually get accustomed to the act. You can still eat anything you want; blood just brings our bodies even more power. Now become who you were meant to be, and feast upon my blood! MAKE YOUR DESCISION NOW!" the voice left Naruto shaken as the world itself seemed to begin to reform.

Naruto felt as if he had just awoken from a deep sleep as his eyes burst open; he could feel the dry, caked mud crack as they did so, and also when he began to move the rest of his body.

Upon rising to his feet he could feel a wave of dizziness wash over him for a second before he could fully regain his composure; his glow stick had long since died out. Reaching into his pouch he pulled forth another one and, with a crack the same sickly green aura, filled the chamber.

_Here goes….well… everything _passed through his mind as he walked over to the casket and grasped the icy stone lid. He pushed with all his might; At first, the casket did not seem as if it could be unsealed, but then, with a mighty crack of stone and mortar, it gave. The sound of stone scraping against stone filled the room, as the lid moved inch by inch… Until with a resounding bang, the lid fell from the casket and slammed against the stone floor. Inside of the casket lay the emaciated figure of a man with a gold circlet around his head. The tattered remains of robes adorned his body, revealing his near skeletal figure.

Thinking on what to do, Naruto leaned lower towards the casket, which seemed to reflect the eerie florescence from his glow stick. It smelt of death; the body had obviously been laid here while he was alive.

_I must have imagined all of it. _He smirked at the thought of that. "Great I'm insane…." The words trailed from his lips hanging in the air of the tomb. As he was about to sit back down to think of a way out, he saw it— on the gold circlet was the same symbol he had worn in his early years, the same spiral that captivated his gaze.

Suddenly the skeletal figure began to move, the creaking of bone rubbing against bone echoed throughout the tomb and its arm raised towards Naruto's face.

The same dark voice from before rang through Naruto's ears. _Drink child,_ it said._ Drink until there is nothing left of me, and in the name of our clan, rise to power!"_

Shaken, Naruto realized that none of it had been a dream or his imagination. This was real. He grasped the raised arm with both hands, letting the glow stick fall to the wayside. He gazed upon the arm and he could feel the pulse from the appendage… No, he could _hear_ the pulse. Every ounce of his being fixated on the arm, as if he was drawn to it, as if a fire had ignited in the pit of his stomach, and he now understood why he was always hungry no matter how much he ate. He wanted—no, he _needed_ one thing to fulfill him… and now it was being offered to him.

His body seemed to act on its own, as if it knew what needed to be done. His canines elongated, causing his mouth to salivate at the taste of his own blood. Inch by inch he grew closer to his ancestor's arm, and as his mouth met its wrist, his eyes glossed over and he sank his teeth deep within its leathery flesh. They penetrated its vein, and slowly but surely he could feel the blood pulse into his mouth and he wanted nothing more but to never stop.

Ichizuko's heart began to pump harder and harder as his life force itself was drained. For Naruto, though, the seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes to hours as he pulled himself deeper and deeper into the arm. He sucked, drawing every ounce of blood he could, but it all-too-soon began to flow slower and slower. Ichizuko's heart fluttered, causing one final rush of blood to enter Naruto's mouth, only for him to greedily swallow every last drop.

The great aura of his ancestor faded, but not without saying four final words- four words that would live within Naruto for eternity.

"For the clan… _anything_." The words lingered in the air, even after Naruto had released the arm. Then pain filled Naruto and he fell to his hands and knees.

Coughing fits started, and blood fell from his lips, painting the stone below a deep, dark crimson. His stomach knotted up and Naruto fell from his hands to lay on the ground, and he began to toss into fits of spasms. His heart raced faster and faster, and he soon thought it would burst.

A dark aura began to radiate from his core; he could feel its power course through his veins, burning its way deep into his very soul. Then a scream escaped his lips as the pain became too much, a scream that pierced the heavens. The dark aura filled the scream itself; then came the convulsions...

Oct 14

Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, taking another deep puff from his pipe, the taste of maple filling his mouth. Rubbing his head, he thought of nothing other than Naruto, hoping that he would soon find the boy alive. His thoughts were interrupted by three abrupt raps at the door.

"Enter" he spoke as he regained his composure. A slender man with hair pure silver and a mask covering the lower half of his face entered and bowed before once again standing at attention, letting the door close behind him.

"Kakashi, report" Hiruzen said sharply hoping for good news

"Hai, Hokage-sama" he responded respectfully "The prisoners were holding strong, their years as chuunin hold out. But one of them finally broke; they chased Naruto through Konoha and to the central graveyard. Upon arriving at the graveyard, they originally thought they had lost Naruto, but after they inspected the area more thoroughly they saw a mark where Naruto had slid in the dirt to escape beneath the roots of a tree. They followed him, and upon crawling beneath the roots they found that the hole opened up to a tunnel deep underground. They followed him and the tunnel until it came to a drastic slope where they pause to contemplate what to do. As they were readying themselves, a kunai with an explosive tag came out of the darkness and caused a cave in. They all nearly died; all of the four were injured, so after digging themselves out they made their way to the hospital, where they were received into the intensive care unit. All Available ANBU units are currently digging out the tunnel, but progress is slow due to the risk of further cave-ins." Kakashi took a deep breath as he finished his report then waited for the Hokage's response.

Hiruzen sighed as he leaned back in his chair and began to rub his temples. "Is there anything else?" he asked, solemnly praying that the boy was still alive.

"Well…"Kakashi began. "The ANBU units reported that they heard his scream about half an hour ago, and it sounded like he was in pain."

"…Very well," Hiruzen responded as he took a long drag from his almost forgotten pipe. "Have the ANBU pull double shifts at B class pay until the boy is found dead or alive. You may go"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kakashi turned about and began to leave but was stopped by the Hokage's voice.

"One more thing Kakashi: Tell Anko to lash her prisoners to the walls of Konoha for disobeying my law…they will stay that way until death, where they will be quartered in front of the village, then burned." The Hokage finished with another puff from his pipe and gave a grim look out the window of his office.

"Hai" Kakashi responded before opening the door and disappearing into the air as if he were never there.

"Everything will work itself out" Hiruzen mumbled as he pulled a bottle of sake from his bottom drawer.

"It's o…ing…p!" a muffled shout made its way to Naruto's ears, he had yet to move from where he had fell, so much had the pain had prevented him. He opened his eyes and saw a crack of light peeping through the darkness from the other room.

He tried to shout, but he felt his throat crack with pain "o…ver here….im still….a…live" he barely was able to make out. He soon became dizzy; losing himself once more to the world.

After a few seconds, he heard voices chattering about and one yell out "He's here! He's alive!" With that, Naruto let himself fade to the darkness and pass out once more…

End of chapter one-

Alright I hope everyone liked the first chapter, sorry it was a bit long winded at part, but that was needed for the introduction to develop properly.

I have more written but I'm currently revising the before I send them along to my beta to edit some more. I literally re wrote this chapter three times before I felt that it was good enough to send to my awesome beta so he could help me out.

Anyway Thank you all for reading. As always Review please, it's the only thing that will keep me happy :P

_J.


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